One Beautiful Life

Friendly Captivity

Beth Moore has a Bible study entitled, "Daniel".  It is one of the most powerful studies I have ever done.  It brings the biblical Babylon right up to modern day Babylon and one of the terms she used that stuck with me was "friendly captivity".  It's when the enemy makes evil look "not so bad" and we are quickly and way too easily ensnared into darkness and sin.  Television shows make hopping in bed with people look "not so bad".  Television commercials make sinful lifestyles look "not so bad".  Music we listen to makes sinful choices and acts sound... "not so bad".  Magazines make clothing that is hardly there look... "not so bad".  It is never ending.  And Satan wants evil to look sweet, cute, friendly.  And that brings me to this post.  It may not be popular, but I can not avoid it.

I was looking at one of my favorite blogs and she is already all into Halloween.  I am amazed and just dumb founded at how Halloween is the favorite holiday of many people... and many Christians.  I saw this picture on her site.  The word "Wicked" is made into a beautiful banner and it is draping the mantel of a home.  This is friendly captivity to the fullest and it breaks my heart at how veiled so many people's eyes, minds, and hearts are to this horrible deception.  Really?  You are inviting wickedness into your home and trying to make it pretty?  Would you make a banner out of the word "Satan"... or "Murder"... or "Kill"... or "darkness" and place it as one of the focal pieces in your home?

Halloween is a day of wickedness and a day that celebrates darkness, death, witchcraft, and evil.  How in the world have we been so blinded and have tried to play with fire by fluffing it up with trick or treating and beautiful decorating.  As children of God we are called to be holy and separate.  Darkness can not coexist with light.  Period.  It is that simple.  People can not dress up their children like vampires and demons or other horror characters and shine the light of Christ.  We have been deceived and for a great reason.  By making evil look cute and harmless... we are less likely to be on guard to resist it... and THIS is the goal of the enemy all day long.  To make himself look harmless and to get us to drop our guard.  Evil and Wicked are real and they attack Christians constantly.  They are all out to destroy our families, our children, our marriages, our churches, our relationships with God, our very hearts and lives. 

We used to celebrate Halloween in the non-evil way.  HA.  I have to laugh just thinking about it.  Our children could dress up by not as anything scary or evil... just the cute stuff.  Then my eyes were opened to the real meaning of Halloween, what happens all over the world on this night, and I was convicted to the core not to be any part of it.  Holiness can not dabble in darkness without being contaminated.  I realized that I had fallen victim to friendly captivity and was trying to fluff and beautify something that was dark and evil.

I know not everyone will agree with this and I am not here to convince anyone of anything.  But I am called to share the truth and I will do so and leave it at that.  We are called to be above this stuff.  We are called to have nothing to do with darkness.  We are called to resist evil... not beautify it.  I pray this makes you question where the holiday came from, what it signifies, question if it glorifies God in any way, and see what God shows you.  Halloween is not cute.  It is not fun.  It is the personification of the wolf in sheep's clothing... and it breaks my heart.